Player Ratings
1 Kevin Tkachuk 7/10 never took a step back in tight or loose
2 Peter Nicholas 7/10 solid performance
3 Ray Lehner 6/10 played through injury for the benefit of the team
4 Adam Russell 6/10 neutralised Innes' threat everywhere
5 Charlie Edwards 6/10 did all that was asked of him
6 Simon Miall 8/10 lineout steal in last minute was a perfect way to round off exemplary Oxford rugby career
7 Jason Bolger 6/10 if there was a ruck, he was there
8 Brett Robinson 6/10 the brains behind the tactics would prefer to have won in more style
9 Dan Taberner 5/10 struggled at start, but acclimatised to give Fitzgerald decent service
10 Seb Fitzgerald 8/10 kicked well and controlled the game
11 Will Ellerby 6/10 ran out of space, mainly due to the lateral running of others
12 Sam Adlen 6/10 had a bruising encounter with Adams
13 Luke Sherriff 7/10 played out of position, but stuck at it
14 Will Rubie 6/10 this natural try-scorer was, like Ellerby, starved of the ball all day
15 Nick Marsh 7/10 solid under high ball and strong on the counter-attack
Replacements:
Henry Nwume 7/10 having come through the Oxford ranks, "big Henry" was sound as a pound
Fraser Gemmell 6/10 although given just a cameo-role, surely we shall see more of him next year.
1 Andrew O'Brien 5/10 the difference in experience between props showed
2 Chris Collins 5/10 poor throwing in the lineout
3 Des Brett 6/10 battled admirably
4 Angus Innes 7/10 made Oxford fight for every inch they made
5 Ed Mallett 6/10 not his best game
6 Max Graham 5/10 basic errors cost his side dear
7 Duncan Blaikie 6/10 with Super 12 experience, he would have expected more
8 Mike Count 7/10 surprisingly, the burden of leadership didn't affect his game
9 Mark Chapman-Smith 7/10 few errors, but not the game-breaker he was last year
10 Sam Howard 5/10 has to be disappointed with a poor kicking performance
11 James Baker 6/10 his weaving runs asked questions of the Oxford defence
12 Marco Rivaro 6/10 the crowd certainly expected more from this Italy international
13 Scott Adams 8/10 tough and uncompromising
14 Stuart Moffat 8/10 his bulldozing runs made an impact
15 Ali Newmarch 7/10 not bad, but will be looking to work on his penetrating runs for next year
Replacements:
Chris Derksen 7/10 solid lineout throwing settled the Cambridge ship
Martin Purdy 7/10 fought well out of position
Mark Edwards 7/10 proved that there wasn't much between the two Tab scrum-halves.
10th Jan 2002